Mar 25, 2014 Tales of Print: 20th Anniversary of Giant Robot Magazine Talk at GR2
On Sunday, Eric Nakamura and I gave a 20th anniversary presentation about Giant Robot magazine at GR2. As co-founders of the publication, we gave plenty of talks about it at colleges, companies, museums, and juvenile halls from 1994-2010. They were always fun, equal parts (1) behind-the-scenes stories about starting a stapled-and-folded zine about Asian, underground, and independent culture that became a full-on glossy with retail stores and art galleries and (2) encouraging audience members to apply the DIY aesthetic to whatever their interests happen to be.
But even after all that time, this was our first time give a talk in our hometown with mostly friends and family in attendance. Although I still see Eric occasionally and consider him to be one of my dearest friends, this was also my first time to attend GR event in an official capacity since the mag bit the dust. And so we shared favorite stories (how Eric got the killer distro deal from Tower via a buyer who was really into Asian boys, Asian canned coffee and hot sauce reviews that I arranged with ALL and GWAR, respectively) and some lesser-told ones (Eric being confronted by one of Wayne Lo’s victim’s parents after interviewing the school shooter, me becoming pen pals with Maggie Cheung and blowing it). And everything came back easily–both the memories and the chemistry.
There’s a chance the talk wasn’t as great as it seemed. We had a loaded audience, where pretty much almost everyone in the gallery contributed to the magazine in some capacity. Above, clockwise from to left: Eric with supporter and rock star Joe Hahn; ace copy editor and writer Hane Lee and me; GR’s Minister of Color Pryor Praczukowski, contributing artists Rob Sato and Ako Castuera, and GR model Eloise; contributing writers Ken Mori and Jenny Liang; contributing artists Jeni Yang, Sean Chao, and Luke Chueh.
Below, clockwise from top left: me with Pryor, contributing photographer and artist Vicki Berndt, graphic designer Wendy Lau; taste testers Angelyn De La Garza and Happy Tsugawa-Banta with contributing writer Greg Wong; GR Lounge member Kevin Lien; Eric and me with GR Lounge members Aaron and Sarvi Chan; proofreaders Mark Schaefer and Rachel Feldstein; contributing writer Linda Tang with proofreader/GR Foundation member Eric Lau and supporter Tony Scaletta.
Eric has put together some stellar art shows to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Giant Robot’s first issue, both at GR2 and the Oakland Museum of California. But as the guy who spent all of his time in the office garage working on the magazine, this was the celebration for me. Mixed in with contributing musicians, artists, photographers, readers, writers, and the like were my parents, brother, sister, wife, in-laws, cousins, and co-workers from day jobs. There really was no division between my personal life and working at Giant Robot magazine, which made it hard to leave when print was no longer feasible. It also made this gathering very special.
Below, clockwise from top left: Ad guy, writer, and artist Kiyoshi Nakazawa and me; Wendy and me with my mom and dad; supporter James Hamlin, writer Una Kim, photographer and writer Sandy Yang; incomplete group shot after the talk and before dinner at Curry House.
We discussed turning points, shared anecdotes, and compared favorite articles. We talked about old friends, ex-girlfriends, and other contributors with whom we lost touch but were a big part of making the magazine. And there were zero regrets and no remorse. Sixteen years is a long time to hold down a dream job and an eternity for a magazine to run. I can’t complain about either, and I don’t take the end of print or advent of digital personally. What a ride we had, and Eric and I humbly played a key role in evolving the mainstream’s perception of Asia and Asian America through the publication.
When the magazine ran its course at issue 68, we didn’t make a big deal of it. Who would? So for me yesterday’s talk was not only a celebration of the first issue’s anniversary but also a chance for some closure. With help from our friends, Eric and I made 68 pretty great issues. Long live Giant Robot, which still provides an outlet and inspiration for independent and up-and-coming artists to this day. And R.I.P. to my favorite magazine of all time.